Wigan ends Manchester City's quadruple quest with FA Cup upset

Manchester City entered the week of Feb. 19 preparing to confront the biggest obstacle yet on its quest for a historic quadruple. Before it could even arrive at that obstacle, the quest ended.

City crashed out of the FA Cup on Monday with a stunning 1-0 loss to third-tier Wigan, its first elimination from any competition this season.

Even after Fabian Delph’s controversial late-first-half red card, City had around 80 percent possession and the majority of the game’s chances. But an inexplicable gaffe from substitute Kyle Walker released Will Grigg in on goal, and the Northern Irish cult hero punished the heavily favored Citizens:

Its third loss was the most shocking and the most consequential. When the final whistle blew, Wigan fans stormed the pitch, as much in celebration as in disbelief. They ran around aimlessly. They rode on one another’s shoulders. They mobbed players. They took selfies with them.

These are the scenes that the biggest upset of the English season calls for. Teams such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Napoli have tried to disrupt City’s dominant campaign. None could. And now the team currently sitting 47th in English football’s pyramid has.

It needed a few freak occurrences. After almost 45 minutes of City control, Delph flew recklessly into a challenge:

The red didn’t change much. But Walker’s lack of awareness with 12 minutes remaining did. It ultimately condemned the visitors to defeat.

City’s 16-point lead in the Premier League and its progression in cup competitions had prompted talk that Guardiola’s team could become the first in the history of English football to win all four top-tier competitions. The talk was always slightly premature. But with every victory, it became a tad less so.